Tennessee Volunteers @ Florida Gators: What We Learned

Sep 21, 2013; Gainesville, FL, USA; Tennessee Volunteers head coach Butch Jones high fives quarterback Justin Worley (14) after they scored a touchdown against the Florida Gators during the second half at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Florida Gators defeated the Tennessee Volunteers 31-17. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

There was a lot to be learned during the Tennessee Volunteers’ 31-17 loss to the Florida Gators on Saturday.

Here’s what we thought were the biggest takeaways, from quarterback play to defense and everything in between.

Nathan Peterman And Justin Worley Are Not The Answers At QB 

This is of course the most obvious thing we learned on Saturday and it didn’t take long to learn it.

Nathan Peterman was ineffective from the beginning. From calling the wrong protections, to making flat-out bad decisions, it was obvious — Nathan Peterman isn’t an SEC quarterback.

I understand it was Peterman’s first career start, and it was in the swamp. I get all of that — I really do — but Peterman just didn’t look like a leader on the field.

You know how some guys come into a game when called upon and they just “have it”? Well that wasn’t Peterman on Saturday.

To be fair, Justin Worley isn’t the answer either. Worley undoubtedly looked better than Peterman, but if you look at his performance in a vacuum, it wasn’t good either.

Yes Worley made a couple of big completions, but he also missed badly on several throws.

Butch Jones said after the game that there was no way a freshman was ready to be thrown into that atmosphere, which makes you wonder how close the battle is between the freshman and Peterman/Worley. We may find out next weekend when the Vols take on South Alabama. You won’t find a better game to get your young quarterbacks some experience.

Tennessee’s Defense Is 100 Times Better Than Last Season 

Early in Saturday’s game, Tennessee’s defense looked almost….dominant?

They really shut Florida down early. Had the Tennessee offense been able to sustain a few drives and keep the defense off the field, we may have seen a slightly different outcome.

Some folks on Twitter and other social media outlets were all over the Vol defenders for missed tackles and getting beat on the perimeter. Not all the blame can go to the individual performers. I don’t care if it’s the steel curtain out there, you have to get your defense off-the-field.

On top of not getting off-the-field, the Volunteer offense gave the ball to Florida several times on the Vols’ side of the field.

Again that’s something you can’t do if you want your defense to consistently perform at a high level for four quarters.

From an individual standpoint, one player that stood out for Tennessee on Saturday was converter linebacker Brent Brewer. The former safety seemed to always find his way to the ball, and was also excellent in pass coverage.

Brewer will be a huge asset for the Vols moving forward.

Pig Howard Is The Vols’ Most Sure Handed Receiver 

This was something I thought coming into the season.

After watching Howard some during fall practice I really thought he had some of the best hands of the Vol receivers.

Howard, as of right now, is probably the Vols’ most legitimate playmaker, he just hasn’t had many opportunities.

The sophomore wide receiver make several nice snags on Saturday. If Tennessee finds a quarterback that can get him the ball, he can be a nice safety blanket for the offense.

True freshman Marquez North also looked good on Saturday, but he still has a long way to go before he’s the dominant receiver that Vol fans envision.

This Is Far From A Derek Dooley Team

Lastly, and most importantly, the Volunteers never quit on Saturday.

Even when things started looking bleak, they were out there competing.

If you watched the Florida/Tennessee game last season, you saw a team that faced some adversity and got mentally defeated.

The Vols may have lost on Saturday, but they were never mentally defeated. They kept their heads up and went out there and fought until the bitter end.

There aren’t many places more hostile than the swamp. To see a young team go out there and keep their composure the way Tennessee did on Saturday is very encouraging.

Butch Jones constantly preaches mental toughness. If there’s one thing he can be proud of, it’s the mental toughness of his Tennessee Volunteer squad.